Evidence of hybridization between Yaqui catfish Ictalurus pricei (Rutter, 1896) and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818) in north‐west México revealed by analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes

The Yaqui catfish, Ictalurus pricei, is the only native ictalurid species described from north‐west México and south‐west USA. It is an endangered species owing to the decline and loss of most of its historical populations, mainly because of competition and hybridization with the non‐native channel...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aquatic conservation 2021-11, Vol.31 (11), p.3334-3341
Main Authors: Gutiérrez‐Barragán, Alexsandre, García‐De León, Francisco Javier, Varela‐Romero, Alejandro, Ballesteros‐Córdova, Carlos Alonso, Grijalva‐Chon, José Manuel, De la Re‐Vega, Enrique
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catfish
Conservation status
Endangered species
Fish populations
Freshwater fishes
Genes
Hybridization
Hybrids
Ictalurus pricei
Ictalurus punctatus
Indigenous species
Introduced species
Mitochondria
México
non‐native channel catfish
phylogenetic analysis
Phylogeny
Population decline
Populations
Rare species
River basins
south‐west North America
Wildlife conservation
Yaqui catfish
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Yaqui catfish, Ictalurus pricei, is the only native ictalurid species described from north‐west México and south‐west USA. It is an endangered species owing to the decline and loss of most of its historical populations, mainly because of competition and hybridization with the non‐native channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. The Arroyo Cajón Bonito is one of the few remnant populations of Yaqui catfish in the Yaqui River basin, and it is threatened by the presence of channel catfish that escaped from private culture facilities. Phylogenetic analysis of two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes was used to detect evidence of hybridization with channel catfish in a collection of 20 catfish from Arroyo Cajón Bonito. Fourteen putatively pure Yaqui catfishes, five hybrids and one channel catfish were detected. This study further highlights hybridization between channel and Yaqui catfish as the main threat to the remaining Yaqui catfish populations. We recommend urgent evaluation of the remnant populations of native catfish elsewhere and their current conservation status.
ISSN:1052-7613
1099-0755
DOI:10.1002/aqc.3709